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PROS

CONS

The tutorials while helpful just make one long to play the actual game.

Nothing makes you want to read the story through the mission briefings.

VERDICT

Space exploration, mining, and alien life. Gene Effect is a slow paced expedition into a world fraught with intrigue and peril.

Full Review

App Store Info

Exploration is one of those aspects of games that can add so much to an experience. Maybe it's hard wired within us as humans, but part of what makes new game worlds so enticing is to map out and explore all their nooks and crannies, familiarizing ourselves with their landscapes, denizens, and secrets. Gene Effect has us ore mining on a distant world, surrounded by mysterious caves full of precious ore, but also strange plants, animals, and plenty to discover.

The game starts off with a series of tutorial levels explaining the separate game mechanics before the levels start to throw them all together. The tutorials aren't long or cumbersome so they don't bore the player, but instead the game presents itself as so interesting, that we were just wanting to be let loose upon this new beautiful game world rather than being slowly shown our goals within its borders.

Once out in the caves, the goal is to satisfy a quota of ore or colored crystal, deposit it at the machines, and then find your way to the warp gate to zap yourself to a new area. Travel around the caves is via on screen arcade stick, giving you tight and responsive travel in your explorations. Ore might be hidden under rock, or passageways may be blocked, so your ship is equipped with an emitter that can be charged up to remove these obstacles. An offensive lock-on explosive can also be obtained to remove hazards, but most of the time your explorations need to be cautious, discretionary, and methodical.

Finally the game's visuals need to be mentioned as the bizarre plant life and clever use of lighting effects makes this a world worth exploring. The game may be a little slow paced for some, but the main criticism is that what might be an intriguing story is presented in chunks of text before and after missions. Only the most dedicated of player will bother delaying their cave travels to bother, and a more integrated narrative would help to flesh out the world that's being presented.

At the time of this review, the price point is a little hefty compared to most apps, but Gene Effect does offer an engaging experience with a lot of content, and we here at AppSpy give it our recommendation.

Description

Gene Effect takes place in the not so distant future. Mankind explores space using an ancient technology found in an abandoned alien ore mine on Mars. We are now capable of exploiting resources from foreign planets. One day a mining vessel is missing on the planet Kratoss. What starts as a simple rescue mission turns into the discovery of a secret that threatens the existence of mankind.

Gameplay:

Gene Effect is a side scrolling action-adventure. Explore ancient alien mines on the planet Kratoss. Collect resources on your way through deep mines and fight against natural phenomena, biological threats and mechanical devices. You can solve optional puzzles that unlock hidden areas containing relicts, artifacts and other goodies.

Upgrade your ship with artifacts and experience an epic story that unfolds using multiple, interweaved storylines.

Enjoy Gene Effect over and over again with randomized level content, 3 difficulty levels and different play styles.

Features:

- controller support
- three different difficulty modes that increase the challenge
- find hidden artifacts to upgrade your ship
- 6 different trophies including score, time and skill based rewards
- statistical overview with interesting facts like overall progress, total playtime, travel distance and many more
- solve optional puzzles and discover secret places
- interactive environments with dangerous traps and tons of destructible objects
- randomly generated level content for varying and dynamic gameplay
- outstanding visuals using dynamic lighting and real physics
- unlock 25 music tracks and listen to them with an integrated music player

Visit us: http://www.GeneEffect.com

Join us on: http://www.facebook.com/GeneEffect

slidetoPlay 4/4 award:"MUST HAVE"
"Gene Effect is great. The levels are huge, the story is compelling, the presentation is spectacular, and the gameplay– while not without problems– is engaging and fun. Gene Effect is highly recommended for anyone looking for a good sci-fi adventure."

148apps.com
"It’s one of the most impressively presented iOS games I’ve played to date, and clearly a lot of work has gone into making it so visually appealing."

TheAppShack 5/5 stars
"Lightstorm3D has definitely shown that they know exactly what it takes to make an amazingly immersive, incredibly depthy game with Gene Effect. The story, gameplay, graphics, controls, music, everything about the game really stands out as top-notch."

iPhoneGamerUK 5/5 stars
"Seriously right off the bat you don’t even need to read this review, you simply need to hit the download button for this game as it is my favourite game this year so far."

iPlayApps.de Award: 8
"Gene Effect is a little iOS-Jewel."

App Spy.com "Good"
"Gene Effect does offer an engaging experience with a lot of content, and we here at AppSpy give it our recommendation."